To the Humber Community,

As you may know, Metrolinx and Mosaic Transit Group have started construction on the Finch West Light Rail Transit (LRT), including their fenced-off construction zone in Lot 5. The LRT will have a terminus station at Humber’s North Campus, scheduled to open in fall 2023. Overall, the 11 km-long LRT runs along Finch Avenue West between Keele Street and Highway 27.

LRT construction will occur in a number of phases and it may impact traffic and your commute to and from Humber’s North Campus, especially along Humber College Blvd, Highway 27 and Finch Avenue West. Capital Development and Facilities Management and Communications will continue to update the Humber community during the project.

As part of the early construction phase, tree removals are required along Highway 27 and Finch Avenue West. Mosaic has worked with an arborist to determine the trees that are to be removed, and the City of Toronto has approved the tree removal plan. Upon the LRT’s completion, new trees will be planted in compliance with the City of Toronto’s Tree Replacement Policy.

The tree removal process is underway, with the trees to the south of the campus scheduled to be removed in December and January. The majority of trees being removed are not on Humber property. Please see the accompanying rendering of the completed LRT project, showing where new trees and green space will exist.

Please visit metrolinx.com/finchwestlrt and here for more information about tree removal and overall construction, including where and when the work is happening, and what to expect during this construction phase.

I am delighted to announce that David Porter will be joining Humber as our new Dean of Innovative Learning and Senior Special Advisor for Flexible Learning.

As a recognized system leader and expert in online learning and innovative teaching and learning, David will bring tremendous knowledge and experience to support the development of Humber’s new Flexible Learning strategy. Our new Flexible Learning strategy will encompass continuing and professional education, digital learning, the scholarship of teaching and learning and the development of related professional learning and supports for faculty members and staff across our six Faculties.

David has been involved in open and distance learning since the 1990s. Whether in roles in the elementary, secondary or post-secondary sectors, he has been an advocate for adapting new technologies to create educational opportunities. In his current role as CEO of eCampusOntario, he has played a significant role in positioning Ontario as a leader in technology enabled learning, overseeing tremendous organizational growth and building and developing networks across the country and the globe. At eCampusOntario, David has been on the frontlines of increasing access across the province to quality online learning experiences at 45 member institutions. Under his leadership, eCampusOntario has empowered educators to explore emerging technologies and new pedagogical practices and championed a learner-centred approach to the creation of online and technology-enabled programs.

Among his many professional roles, David served as Associate Vice President, Educational Support and Innovation at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and as the Executive Director of BCcampus, where he led the team that launched Canada’s first publicly funded open textbook program.

In addition to overseeing the Innovative / Flexible Learning Strategy, David will collaborate with leaders across Humber’s academic division, ETS, International and other departments, as well as with external partners, to ensure we are meeting our industry and community partners’ professional learning and corporate training needs today, and anticipating how those will continue to evolve.

David holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto and a Master’s of Education and Doctor of Education from Simon Fraser University. David was recently awarded an honorary doctorate from Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

David will start in his new role in February 2020. As the Dean of Innovative Learning, David will report directly to me in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Innovative Learning. In his role as Senior Special Advisor for Flexible Learning, David will report to me and also to Laurie Rancourt, Senior Vice President Academic.

Vera Beletzan
Senior Dean, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Innovative Learning

With growth in LMS usage continuing to trend upwards at Humber College, the College will be initiating their Blackboard Data Retention Initiative this semester (Fall 2019). This initiative is sponsored and supported by ITS, AOC and the Teaching & Learning Support services.

Who will be impacted?

• All faculty and administrators who have courses in Blackboard, pre-Fall 2017, will be impacted.

Which Blackboard courses will be archived and deleted?

• All Banner generated courses, courses that have an assigned CRN number, including XL/cross listed courses, from Fall 2012 to Summer 2017 inclusive will be archived and then fully deleted from Blackboard.
• .DEV, _DEV, SBX, TUTR, Master/MSTR and other specially requested Blackboard courses will not be archived nor deleted. Faculty can contact naveed.aqeel@humber.ca if they have questions regarding which courses will be impacted. 
• Faculty will continue to have access to two years, plus this current academic year (2019/2020), of course data. Blackboard courses generated in the following academic cycles - 2017/2018, 2018/2019, 2019/2020 - will not be archived/deleted at this time.

When will courses be archived and deleted?

• The archiving process will commence immediately. There will be no impact to Blackboard courses or Blackboard services during the archiving process. 
• The deletion of Blackboard course data (Fall 2012 – Summer 2017 courses) will occur the weekend of January 11/12, 2020.
• The process of archiving and deleting data from Blackboard will be carried out annually as per the retention policy and after the close out of each academic year.

Faculty considerations and responsibilities:

Faculty should export/archive any courses older than Fall 2017 that they wish to keep offline. This task should be ideally completed by December 20,  2019. 

• Help documentation on how to export/archive a course can be found at here. Exported/archived courses should be saved either offline on a USB or uploaded to a cloud storage solution such as Microsoft OneDrive.
• Faculty one-on-one support is available through the Instructional Support Studios. Lakeshore Campus, D112, x3288; North Campus, J230, x4744. Email for both locations is facultyblackboard@humber.ca. 

The Humber Spa will be an official location in receiving gifts for The Shoebox Project for women.

The Shoebox Project for Women is a registered charity that collects and distributes gift-filled shoeboxes to women impacted by homelessness in communities across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

A shoebox gift is a powerful reminder for a woman that she has not been forgotten and that she remains a valued and respected member of her community.

Please drop-off your shoeboxes and help a woman in need at North Campus, A109.

Final day for drop-off is Thursday, December 12, 2019.